


Valiant

by hunters_retreat



Series: Further Interruptions [38]
Category: Fullmetal Alchemist - All Media Types
Genre: Angst, Angst as only parenthood can bring, Ed can't get enough time to work, Frustration, M/M, New Parents, Roy works too much, Six month old twins, Stay-at-home Parent Ed Elric, adjustments
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-14
Updated: 2019-04-14
Packaged: 2020-01-13 10:48:00
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,598
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18467395
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hunters_retreat/pseuds/hunters_retreat
Summary: He wasn’t ready to deal with Roy so he sat down in the rocker and buried his head in his hands.  He should leave to make sure he wasn’t the one that woke them this time, but he couldn’t find the strength to leave the room.  Instead, he listened to the soft sounds of his children sleeping, while his heart tried valiantly to pull itself back together.





	Valiant

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you to Kzellr for the beta!

Ed let out a deep breath as he slowly closed the nursery door behind him.  The door latch seemed overly loud in the quiet of the house and he held his breath for a moment to see if it woke one of the twins.  A few seconds passed and Ed sighed before he slowly crept down the stairs. 

He momentarily thought about jumping into the shower but discarded the idea simply for the fact that the kitchen was still a mess and he needed to take care of that first.  If he didn’t, he’d end up half asleep to the warmth of the shower, and once he’d get out, he’d just fall into bed.  Roy wouldn’t complain about the dirty kitchen, but he wouldn’t deal with it either.  He wasn’t taking many meals with them these days.  He tended to grab a bit of toast on the way out of the door to the office and didn’t make it home until late.  Ed missed his husband and wished he had more time with him, and more help with the twins, but he knew what was at stake for Roy.

So, he trudged down the stairs, extra careful to make sure his metal foot didn’t stomp too loudly down the steps.  He sighed as he looked into the living room and decided to ignore the mess of toys on the floor.  For one night Ed could deal with a messy living room.  He’d be up before first light with the twins anyway.  Roy wouldn’t notice.  He’d be home late, probably head straight for bed, and Ed would barely get a kiss before he said good night.

He loved the bastard, but that was just how things were right now.  Work was tough, neither slept through the night because of the twins, and with what little time Ed had on his own right now he was trying to work on breaking a former State Alchemist’s code so he could review the data for Armstrong.  No deadline since Ed was working solely as a contractor at this point, but he hated leaving it undone.  Before the twins he’d have probably been able to break it in a day or two.  It had been over a week.

Maybe if he finished cleaning up fast enough, he could take a quick shower and get a little work done.  Then maybe get a little sleep before one of the twins woke. 

Dinner was stew and it was cool enough now to put it in a new container for the ice box.  There was enough left over that if Roy came home hungry, he could heat some up and still have lunch for tomorrow.  Full husband tonight.  Stew for him, mashed veggies for the twins tomorrow.  Win/win. 

He scrubbed the pot clean and washed their plates and bowls from dinner, then set about cleaning up the mess he’d made cooking.  He didn’t get how Roy could cook and keep everything clean while he did it.  Ed tried, but somehow it never happened.  Roy never minded.  In fact, he often cleaned up for Ed when he was there to help out.  It was just … he wasn’t there that often lately.

When he was done with the kitchen, he went back to the dining room and cleaned up the table from the mess the twins made while eating.  He still had no idea how Tishy could manage to get food stuck under the table, but it seemed to be something she was gifted at.  Maes on the other hand somehow always managed to get everything stuck in his hair.  Thus, the extra-long bath he’d had to give them tonight. 

He dropped the wash cloth back into the kitchen and was thinking about the blissful heat of the shower when he heard the front door close.    He dried his hands on a hand towel and walked towards the living room just in time to hear “Fuck!  What the hell is that?”

When Ed stepped into the room, he could see Roy on the couch with his foot in one hand and a broken toy at his feet.  “Are you okay?” he asked when he realized it was one of the mini toy tool sets Winry had sent the twins. 

“No, I’m really not,” Roy said as he looked up at Ed.  “Is it really too much to ask that I can actually come home after being gone all day and just sit and relax for a minute without being assaulted by toys?” he demanded.

Ed knew, in his head and in his heart, that Roy was just tired, but it didn’t keep him from opening his mouth.  It didn’t stop his own exhaustion and frustration from coming out as well.  “Feel free to lend a hand any time.  I’m not the only one that knows how to pick up a toy and drop it in the box, you know.”

“No, but I would expect you could at least do that since you’re home all day with nothing else to do.  You barely work, from what Armstrong said in our meeting today, and you can’t even keep the toys off the floor?” 

“I am not your damn maid!” Ed yelled.

“No, you’re my fucking husband and I expect you to at least try!”

“Fuck you!” Ed yelled again as he stormed out of the room.  He couldn’t deal with this right now. 

“Where are you going?” Roy demanded, following him out into the hallway.  Ed threw his boots on and he could see the anger in Roy turning to panic, but Ed didn’t care.  Not tonight he didn’t.

“Where the hell are you going?” Roy demanded again. 

Ed threw the closet door open to grab his coat and it banged against the wall.  “I’m getting the hell away from you!”

They both stopped at the first sound of a baby’s cry.  Ed took a deep breath and closed his eyes.  When he looked at Roy, his husband was frozen, like he always was when one of the twins cried. 

Ed slammed the closet door shut without his coat and kicked off his boots before he could leave.  As much as he wanted to get away from Roy right now, he couldn’t.  Whenever one of the kids cried, Roy just froze.  He didn’t know how to deal with it.  He just … froze.  Ed had thought it was cute at first, but six months in and it had lost its appeal.

“I can’t even fucking leave because if I do you’ll just sit here staring at the door, waiting for me to come back and deal with this,” Ed said, pissed.  “I haven’t left the house in weeks and I can’t get five goddamn minutes for myself.  Winry’s going to laugh herself sick when she hears about this.  Held captive because my goddamn husband can’t deal with crying babies!” he complained the entire way up the stairs. 

He was too worked up and needed time to settle but he took a deep breath at the nursery door and then forged ahead anyway.

He stepped into the darkened room with only a small nightlight to see by.  They’d forgone a traditional white nursery because it reminded Ed too much of a hospital room.  Instead the room had been decorated in various shades of pale rainbow colors.  Prisms hung from the windows and in the day hours rainbows fell across the floor for the children to chase. 

Ed walked to the crib and picked up his crying son.  He fussed a moment then smiled at Ed.  He changed his diaper quickly and then redressed him, before he sat in the rocker and began to slowly rock Maes back to sleep.  He hoped he wasn’t hungry already because he didn’t want to have to go back downstairs and deal with his husband who was probably still slack jawed at the bottom of the stairs.   

“You know I love you buddy,” Ed said softly to his son as he stroked his back, “but maybe you could cut your old man a little slack, huh?”  Maes let out a little sigh but Ed knew it wasn’t time to set him back to bed.  If he did, he’d wake up and Ed would be right back at it.  Possibly with Tishy to add to the fussing.

“Kinda been a long week, huh?  I’m so grateful you and Tishy are finally over that bug.  Can’t believe Adriana’s mom brought her to the park sick like that and didn’t say anything.”  Ed kept talking, but as he did he felt more and more upset.  He kept his voice steady for his son as he continued to open up, but he felt tears in his eyes, and then he felt them fall.  He was just tired.  And frustrated.  He just needed a little time to himself and it seemed like he was pulled in too many directions.  He loved his family though.  They needed him and he would pull through, just like he always did.

He just … needed a little time.

When Maes was finally asleep, Ed set him back in his crib and watched his son curl up around his sister. 

He wasn’t ready to deal with Roy so he sat down in the rocker and buried his head in his hands.  He should leave to make sure he wasn’t the one that woke them this time, but he couldn’t find the strength to leave the room.  Instead, he listened to the soft sounds of his children sleeping, while his heart tried valiantly to pull itself back together.


End file.
